Five finalists have been chosen in the Momentum 5x5 Competition, which will award $5,000 in seed money to one winner on August 13.

The owners of HarborFit Studio, Kavana Bees LLC, Nature’s Nectar, Sudzy Shindiz Foam Parties and Traveling Sage LLC will each have five minutes to explain their business idea in front of a panel of judges and live audience at Epworth Heights. Momentum 5x5 Pitch Night is a free event that will begin at 4 p.m. and include a meet-and-greet with contestants, hors d'oeuvres from Gloria Ann’s Catering, and five business presentations, followed by the announcement of the top contender.

The Chamber Alliance of Mason County administers the Momentum 5x5 program to encourage new business in Mason County for participants who may need start-up funds to get their business ideas moving forward. Prize money and event hosting is sponsored by Epworth.

About the Finalists

HarborFit Studio is a group fitness studio offering many class types, including Power Yoga, step aerobics, Pilates, barre, cardio kickboxing, and other strength training classes. Owner Heather Wilson seeks to provide comfortable, fun, affordable space, and if she were to win the prize money, she would like to put in a new gym floor and create a website. 

Kavana Bees LLC supplies bees and bee products with holistic intention. Owner Candace Casados wants to sell healthy, thriving young colonies to local beekeepers, create value-added health and body care products from what bees produce naturally (wax, propolis and honey), and provide pollination services to small-scale local farms and orchards.

Winning the $5,000 prize would ensure that Kavana Bees will have adequate funds to purchase containers, packaging and marketing materials necessary to meet the demand of projected fall 2024/spring 2025 sales. 

Nectar Juice Co. is a fresh cold-pressed juice shop that wants to help people live an active healthy lifestyle or make small healthier swaps on a journey of health. Owner Naya Bandstra would like to purchase a “juice truck” to begin building the business and work toward the goal of moving to a downtown building.

Sudzy Shindiz Foam Parties 
Drew and Wendy Poll hope to bring smiles, fun and laughter to local parties by providing foam! The couple hopes to expand, add more equipment, and even look into an indoor facility for these sudsy get-togethers.

Traveling Sage LLC seeks to provide fresh-made, artisan pasta for sale to local restaurants and markets as a unique culinary offering and a means to sustainably underwrite an innovative youth cooking program called "Real Food with Traveling Sage.” The target market for youth culinary classes is children in Mason County ages 9-15. Corinn VanWyck’s youth culinary program can be brought directly to underserved communities in Mason County through the use of an upgraded portable teaching kitchen setup. 

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This will be the sixth Momentum 5x5 in Mason County, held in cooperation with Epworth. Past winners include Sister Bees, My Inspired Studio (now known as Faire Heart), House and Harbor, Lakeshore Swim School, and The SandBox. To learn more about Momentum 5x5, visit https://www.ludington.org/momentum-competition/.